Method and system for creating a commemorative presentation

• US 7,657,835 B2
• Filed: 05/28/2003
• Issued: 02/02/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Making Everlasting Memories, LLC (Service Corporation International)
• Original Assignee: Making Everlasting Memories, LLC (Service Corporation International)
• Inventors: Johnson, Jeffrey Jon, Sefton, Steven Craig, Mindrum, Gordon Scott
• Primary Examiner(s): Hailu; Tadeese
• Application Number:
  US10/446,988
• Publication Number:
  US 20030197721A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,442 Days
• Field of Search: 715716-733, 715/838, 725/80, 725/100, 725/46, 725/35, 725/112, 725/113, 345/418, 345/419
• US Class Current: 715/719
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

A method and system for creating a commemorative presentation. The subject of the commemoration can take a variety of forms, including living or deceased individuals, organizations, entities, companies, cities, and the like. A plurality of images are compiled related to the subject. Configuration data is created relating to the display of the plurality of images. The plurality of images and configuration data are stored in a database. A video is dynamically created by accessing the plurality of images and configuration data stored in the datastore and sequentially displaying the plurality of images stored in the datastore in conformance with the configuration data stored in the datastore. While the invention has utility in a number of different applications, one particularly well suited application is in the death care industry for creating commemorative videos for the recently deceased.

Claims

1. A method of creating a user-defined commemorative presentation, the method comprising the acts of:

a) compiling a plurality of images related to a subject, wherein a person related to the subject compiles the plurality of images wherein at least a portion of the plurality of images are received by a server electronically, from a client, via a telecommunications network;

b) creating configuration data relating to the display of the plurality of images, wherein the person related to the subject creates the configuration data by performing acts of;

(i) selecting one or more configuration templates to apply to the plurality of images, and

(ii) modifying the one or more configuration templates, wherein the act of modifying the one or more configuration templates includes the person related to the subject performing acts of;

(A) selecting an order and duration for displaying the plurality of images, and

(B) adding personalized text to accompany at least one of a selected image of the plurality of images;

c) storing the plurality of images and configuration data on the server, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of images are stored as individual electronic files in a datastore on the server, wherein a plurality of images relating to a plurality of other subjects are also stored as individual electronic files in the datastore, on the same server as the plurality of images related to the subject;

d) creating a video by accessing the plurality of images stored in the datastore and the configuration data and sequentially displaying the plurality of images stored in the datastore in conformance with the configuration data, wherein the act of accessing the plurality of images stored in the datastore comprises accessing each of the corresponding individual electronic files stored on the server in the datastore; and

e) displaying the video to commemorate the subject, wherein the act of displaying the video comprises streaming the video from the server to the client via the Internet.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the act of storing the video on a video medium.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the video medium comprises one or more of the following:

video tape, compact disc (CD), or digital video disc (DVD).

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the act of displaying further comprises preloading the video, wherein the act of preloading the video comprises playing a first portion of the video while creating a second portion of the video.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the subject is a deceased person and the video is displayed during the funeral service of the deceased person.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the video is replayed after the funeral service has concluded from a web site on an Internet browser.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the act of compiling comprises scanning photographs at a funeral home and uploading the scanned photographs to the datastore.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the video is created on a remote server to the funeral service.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the video is transmitted to the funeral home over the Internet.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the displayed video is streamed from the server.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the video is downloaded from the server.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising the act of transmitting via the Internet the plurality of images from the funeral home to the server.

13. A business method comprising offering and selling the acts in the method of claim 5 in conjunction with funeral services of a funeral home.

14. The business method of claim 13, further comprising the act of selling the video stored on a video medium.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the video is in a format selected from the group consisting of MACROMEDIA FLASH, SHOCRWAVE, DIRECTOR, MPEG, AVI, ASF, REAL MEDIA, QUICKTIME, and DVD.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of images are still or video images.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the configuration data defines one or more of the following:

the type of transition of the images in the video;

panning of the images in the video;

zooming of the images in the video;

framing of the images in the video.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the configuration data defines one or more of the following:

music to be played in the video;

background appearance in the video.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the configuration data defines one or more of the following:

one or more introduction screens in the video;

one or more ending screens in the video;

descriptive text of the images in the video.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the acts are performed sequentially.

21. A computer system programmed to perform the method of claim 1.

22. A computer readable medium comprising instructions for performing the method of claim 1.

23. A video created using the method of claim 1.

24. A method in conjunction with funeral services, the method comprising steps of:

a) creating identifying data for a plurality of deceased persons, the identifying data being unique to each deceased person;

b) compiling a plurality of images and a plurality of tributes related to each of the plurality of deceased persons, wherein each image of the plurality of images and each tribute of the plurality of tributes is associated a particular deceased person of the plurality of deceased persons, with the identifying data being unique to the particular deceased person, wherein each one of the images is represented by a respective individual electronic file, wherein the images and tributes are received by a server from a one or more submitting clients;

c) creating configuration data for each of the plurality of deceased persons, wherein the configuration data corresponds to a plurality of video display options relating to the sequence and presentation of the plurality of images and the plurality of tributes;

d) for each of the plurality of deceased persons, storing in a datastore on the server the individual electronic files corresponding to the plurality of images and the plurality of tributes, configuration data, and identifying data;

e) creating a commemorative video for the selected deceased person in response to a user submitting a request via a requesting client by accessing and sequentially displaying the corresponding plurality of images and the corresponding plurality of tributes stored in the datastore on the server in conformance with the corresponding configuration data and identifying data; and

f) displaying the video, on the requesting client, during the funeral service of the selected deceased person, wherein the act of displaying the video comprises streaming the video from the server to the requesting client via the Internet.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the identifying data comprises numeric data.

26. The method of claim 24, wherein the identifying data comprises at least a portion of the name of the corresponding deceased person.

27. The method of claim 24, further comprising the act of selling the video stored on a video medium.

28. The method of claim 24, further comprising the act of creating commemorative videos accessible over the Internet after the funeral service.

29. A method of claim 24, further comprising the acts of offering and selling the acts in the method in conjunction with funeral services of a funeral home.

30. The method of claim 24, wherein the plurality of video display options comprise:

the sequence of images to be displaying in the video;

the time period between image transitions in the video;

the type of transition of the images in the video;

panning of the images in the video;

zooming of the images in the video;

framing of the images in the video;

music to be played in the video;

background appearance in the video;

one or more introduction screens in the video;

one or more ending screens in the video; and

descriptive text of the images in the video.

31. The method of claim 24, wherein the plurality of images are still or video images.

32. The method of claim 24, wherein the acts are performed sequentially.

33. The method of claim 24, wherein the one or more of the acts are performed at least in part simultaneously.

34. A computer system programmed to perform the method of claim 24.

35. A computer readable medium comprising instructions for performing the method of claim 24.

36. A method of preparing a commemorative presentation of a deceased person, the method comprising:

a) accessing a website over the Internet, wherein the website comprises a data entry tool located on a server, wherein the data entry tool comprises a plurality of tabs, wherein the plurality of tabs comprise one or more fields for data entry;

b) entering information in the one or more fields, wherein the information includes general information, contact information, and biography information;

c) editing one or more photos and one or more narrations, wherein at least a portion of the photos and narrations were uploaded to the server by a third party, wherein the act of editing comprises selecting configuration data relating to the sequence and presentation of the one or more photos and the one or more narrations, wherein the configuration data is configured to play an audio file as the one or more photos are presented; and

d) publishing the commemorative presentation, wherein the act of publishing comprises selecting an option to publish within one of the plurality of tabs of the data entry tool.